Millions of dead fish have washed up in a river near a small Australian town, in a phenomenon state officials say is related to the “heatwave conditions” that are sweeping the country.
Video emerged this week showing masses of dead fish floating at the Menindee Weir pool near Broken Hill.
“Significant volumes” of fish, including carp and bony herring, along with nutrients and organic matter from the flood plain, have been forced back up the river due to the hot weather, according to the Department of Primary Industries in New South Wales.
“These fish deaths are related to low oxygen levels in the water (hypoxia) as flood waters recede,” it explained in a statement this week.
Heatwaves across Australia have become more frequent and intense as climate change worsens and global temperatures continue to rise.
Source: CNN
